Thomas Kinkade (a.k.a. “Painter of Light”) is a born-again Christian artist whose prints appear everywhere. He runs the Thomas Kinkade Co. He just lost a big court case because of shady business dealings — he now owes $2,100,000 — but notice how he manipulated the other side (Kinkade Signature Gallery owners): At a week-long presentation for prospective Kinkade Signature Gallery owners, company executives “said they would support us as partners in spreading the light,” Spinello said at the time of… Read more
Here’s all you need to know about the clip: The reporter mentions the obvious cause of the smoke ring… and then proceeds to let this woman say it’s a UFO, thus making a fool of herself. The clip of the UFO investigator doesn’t help me take this newscast seriously, either. Thank you, CNN. That’s hard-hitting news right there. To make it worse, they offer two idiotic polls designed for the UFO-nuts: So far, 21% of voters think it’s a UFO…. Read more
The other day, I posted about a Police Officer’s Prayer that was popping up on several government websites. Comments were made about how that was not a battle atheists should be fighting. It was too small an issue to care about. It’s a similar argument to the one made when Michael Newdow took on the “Under God” phrasing in the Pledge of Allegiance. Some atheists said he was taking on an unwinnable, unnecessary battle. Going after “In God We Trust”… Read more
It’s like I’ve always said: Pigs are Creationists. Thankfully, Goat is the voice of reason. I’m not sure if there’s an extended metaphor for that… (via Pearls Before Swine) Read more
… then you ought to be celebrating. Today is the 46th anniversary of Abington School District v. Schempp, the Supreme Court case that declared school-sponsored Bible reading unconstitutional. (It was consolidated with another case, Murray v. Curlett.) Ellery Schempp, a plaintiff in the case, was in 11th grade at the time. You can read his remarkable story here. Read more
Over the weekend, I attended the biannual board meeting of the Secular Coalition for America. I began working with the SCA before our first director was hired, a few years ago. It’s incredible how far we’ve come in that time. We’re now getting one-on-one appointments with the White House staff and we’re included in White House meetings. Instead of our staff calling them, they now call us. We’re being far more proactive than ever, speaking to members of Congress about… Read more
Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block is a book about a young boy who is gay. It was written 15 years ago, but it’s back in the news. Why? Because conservative Christians want to move it, censor it, and burn it. A group called West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries was offended that the local library posted a list of gay-friendly books for young people on its website. Then they demanded that the books be moved from the youth section… Read more
For nearly 25 years, PBS has had a rule that all stations must provide “non-commercial, non-partisan and non-sectarian content.” The rule was rarely enforced and it was never hard to find religious programming on the air. You know which programs I’m talking about because when they were on, you automatically changed the channel. Now, PBS has decided to enforce the rule, with a few exceptions: Six PBS stations currently broadcast “sectarian” programs produced by local religious groups, including the morning… Read more
The Secular Student Alliance is hosting our annual conference on August 7th — 9th (Friday to Sunday) in Columbus, Ohio. Not only is registration open for the conference, we are now offering travel grants for those who need it (in $100 and $200 amounts). There are $4,000 in travel grants ready to be given away. These are given out on a rolling basis, so you need to apply as soon as possible! I’ve posted this before, but it’s worth posting… Read more
While in St. Louis over the weekend, I met several wonderful atheists at a Meetup. I thought we were going out to lunch. It turns out I was lunch. Christopher, Christina, and Dustin decided to keep some of me in the city… This picture needs a caption. Feel free to offer suggestions. (Apparently, I taste like blasphemy.) Read more
